INTERACTIVE: Lease vs Buy Car Calculator Let's take a look at a specific example of the total cost to buy or lease the same car. We'll assume that you're buying a new $35,000 car, making a $3,000 down payment and we'll use a few national averages for certain fees that might be a part of the buying process. Visit the Edmunds Lease vs Buy Car Calculator. For each section, only change the values listed Do not change any other text boxes. a. Under Location, enter your zip code b. Under Vehicle Details: Vehicle Sales Price: $35,000 Title and Registration: $80 4. Fill in the chart with the yearly cost to buy and lease this car. Then, add up the costs to find the total for 7 years. Total $1506 Lease $18.726 Total Monthly Loan Total $134,250 "250" Moray Manly $1653 Year 1 Costs Year 2 Costs Year 3 Costs Year 4 Costs Year 5 Costs Year 6 Costs Year 7 Costs after 7 years Buy Lease c. Under Trade-In and Down Payment Cash Down Payment: $3,000 d. Under Financing Details: Approx Credit Score = Good e. Under Lease Terms Acquisition fee: $500 Lease Term: 36 months Annual Miles: 10000 Security Deposit: $500 f. Under Loan Terms: .60 months 1. How much more are you paying per month to buy a car instead of leasing it? $147 Now that we know the monthly payment for buying and leasing the car, let's see how much you'll pay over the course of 7 years. We'll assume that when your lease expires, you'll continue to lease a new vehicle at the same monthly payment. 5 Years Is buying or leasing more expensive over 7 years? By how much? Leasing be DO IT VIDEO: Reading an Auto Lease Agreement ACTIVITY: FINE PRINT: Auto Lease Agreement Now that you've had a chance to compare buying and leasing, you might choose to lease your next car. Before you do that, it would be a good idea to understand how to read a lease agreement! First, watch the video explaining the parts of an auto lease agreement. Follow the directions on the worksheet to complete this activity. 2. How much will it cost per year to buy this car? 3. How much will it cost per year to lease this car? Now let's see how much these payments are over the next 7 years. Remember that when you buy a car, you'll be done making payments after 5 years but for a lease, you'll continue to make payments.